What is Yoga?
Yoga is many things to many people. When we ask this question on our teacher training programmes we usually end up with many words scrawled all over a huge whiteboard. Yoga is hard to define as it is so expansive and all-encompassing. Here we have chosen 8 words we associate with yoga.
Yoga is Connection
“Only when I connect to myself can I truly connect with others and the world around me”
Yoga is Liberation
Freeing oneself from reaction rather than response, based upon self-realisation is a path to freedom. Yoga can teach us to respond to life’s challenges from a place of truth and grace.
Yoga is Compassion
Yoga embodies the essence of compassion. By directing our introspective gaze and fearlessly examining our thoughts, we embark on a profound journey toward nurturing compassion within. The compassion we extend to ourselves through this practice becomes the source from which our compassion for others inevitably flows. 🌼💕
Yoga is Awareness
Awareness of senses, perception and thoughts as a witness. Through observing the mind, body and breath we gain awareness and clarity.
Yoga is Balance
“Possessing strength and stillness is a sign of balance: power and serenity combined in one moment. It’s challenging enough to hold either one, let alone both, in perfect equipoise, but that is the goal if we want to be balanced.” — Sebastian Pole
Yoga is Equanimity
Yoga helps balance our response to our challenges, accepting both good and bad with a state of calm and even mindedness.
Yoga is Truth
Satya or ‘truthfulness‘ is the second of the Yamas (restraints) of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, helping us to think and act honestly and with integrity.
Yoga is Peace
“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
